Red Cabbage, 2 Ways

Today on LVCMag.com: Coleslaw…Lightened Up! Learn a few quick tips on how to turn this classic side dish into a 5-start healthy meal option!

Interested in expanding your food world and trying out new flavours?!  I don’t know about you, but I am totally excited!

For the longest time, I’ve only been eating from a small collection of foods, preparing them in different combination with different ingredients and calling them new and unique dishes. Well, it seems like I’ve only tasted such a small piece out of the big food pie. And, especially since I’ve had an amazingly tasty experience with the parnsip challenge, I am super ready to jump out from my comfort zone and try new foods.

And that is the reason why I’m starting a food challenge segment on Juicy Fresh Bites!

Each week I’ll try an unfamiliar food or a food that I have detested in the past. I’ll explore different ways of preparing it and write about whether my culinary experiments turn out to be wildly successful or minimally bearable…

To kick-start this series, I decided to try red cabbage. I’ve had different kinds of cabbage before but somehow the red cabbage just kind of scared me away in the past. But today I’m all set to tackle it!

Red cabbage belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family. Some of its relatives include kale, broccoli and brussel sprouts. It is an excellent source of many nutrients, namely vitamin K (1 cup cooked contains about 73mcg, which is roughly 92% of your daily needs) [if vitamin K is a nutrient of key concern to you, please refer to comment below!]. It is also worth noting that it contains a very powerful antioxidant compound called anthocyanin (which gives the red cabbage its characteristic purple colour). Anthocyanin will help to quench free radicals in the body and prevent cell damage which will potentially reduce cancer risks. Cabbage is also a great source of fiber (1 cup cooked has nearly 4g of fiber), an essential component to keeping your digestive system healthy. (sources: World’s Healthiest Food: Cabbage, NutritionData: Cabbage, boiled, and Mayo Clinic: Vitamin K).

After digging through my recipe collection, I decided to try 2 ways of preparing it: braised red cabbage and red cabbage coleslaw.

Braised red cabbage was basically cooking cabbage over medium-low heat until it softens, wilts and takes on a mushy-like texture. I followed the recipe on Cheap Healthy Good. It was very easy and turned out quite delicious. The cabbage was soft, slightly mushy (I liked that) and had a slight hint of sweetness. The Granny Smith apples were also a wonderful addition. The tangy flavour of the apples paired nicely with the slight sweetness from the cabbage.

Braised Red Cabbage with Apples

Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good’s Red Cabbage with Apples

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head red cabbage, about 1lb, cored and shredded thinly
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and cubed
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 4 – 5 cloves (I didn’t have cloves, so I sprinkled in a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg)
• Cooking spray
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

• Heat up a large saucepan on medium heat, give it a few good spritzs with the cooking spray.
• Pour in the red cabbage and cloves (if using). Stir well to coat cabbage in oil. Turn down the heat to medium-low to prevent scorching. Cook on medium low heat until cabbage softens, about 15 – 20 minutes, stir occasionally. Add in a tablespoon of water or stock if cabbage starts to stick to the bottom of the pan (do not add too much water or else the dish will become waterlogged and overly-mushy.)
• Add in stock and apples (and cinnamon & nutmeg if using). Turn heat up to medium-high and cook until cabbage and apples reaches desired consistency (I like my cabbage mushy so I cooked it for another 10 minutes or so…).
• Serve hot.

With the remaining half a head of cabbage, I decided to make a creamy coleslaw. Instead of using store-bought coleslaw dressing, I whipped up a quick homemade dressing using Ellie Krieger’s recipe as a guideline. The dressing turned out wonderfully creamy and flavourful. This red cabbage coleslaw — crispy shredded red cabbage, along with chunks of tart Granny Smith Apples and sweet cream corn kernels lighted tossed in a creamy, light dressing — is truly freshness and deliciousness in every forkful!

Red Cabbage Slaw

Inspired by Ellie Krieger’s Classic Coleslaw with Caraway

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head red cabbage, about 1lb, cored and shredded very thinly
• 1/2 carrot, shredded
• 1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled, cored and cubed
• 1 cup canned corn kernels, drained

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup Greek-yogurt (or 1/2 cup drained low-fat plain yogurt)
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup regular mayonnaise (I used Japanese mayo, I like the flavour)
• 2 tbsp apple cidar vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions:

• Place red cabbage in a large colander, pour 1 tablespoon of salt over it, and mix it in well with your hands. Let sit for 20 – 30 minutes to let it soften slightly. Then rinse the cabbage well (to get rid of the excess salt), and drain very carefully. Dry cabbage well using paper towels (or use a salad spinner).
• In a large bowl, mix together red cabbage, shredded carrots, apple cubes and corn kernels. Mix well together.
• In a separate bowl, prepare the dressing. If using low-fat plain yogurt, place it in a cheesecloth bag and over a strainer and set the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes.
• When yogurt is ready, mix together the yogurt, sour cream and mayo. Then add in vinegar and honey, little by little, add more to adjust to desired flavour. Lastly, add in salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour dressing over slaw, toss to coat and chill until serving. (You may find that you don’t need the whole batch of dressing for the coleslaw, so add the dressing slowly to prevent overdressing your slaw.)

Eating cabbage raw and enjoying it cooked have been totally two different tasting experiences!  The braised red cabbage was a very warming, home-y dish that I would very much enjoy on a cold, gloomy winter night and that would totally cheer me up. On the other hand, coleslaw would be perfect for the summer days when I want to have a light, refreshing lunch or it can serve as a great side dish to a heavy dinner by offsetting some of the heaviness and injecting some healthfulness in that meal.

Next Week’s Food Challenge: Dates!

Do you have a favourite way of preparing red cabbage? Share it here so I can try it out!